Poverty, Labor, and Domestic Life Theme Analysis

In the 1950s, when “I Stand Here Ironing” was published, family life and domestic labor were often depicted as idyllic: housewives wore clean dresses, cooked perfect meals, and cared for well-behaved children while their husbands worked. Tillie Olsen’s depiction of domestic life as gritty, banal, and difficult contrasts with these romanticized representations, reminding readers that American domestic life was not always glamorous, particularly for poor families. The narrator’s poverty traps her in grueling and repetitive chores and prevents her from fulfilling herself and giving her daughter Emily the best care. Still, the narrator’s labor remains meaningful even as poverty constrains her, and in part because of the labor she has done throughout her life she is ultimately able to imagine a future in which Emily may live a freer life than she did. “I Stand Here Ironing” therefore makes a case for viewing domestic labor and family life as complex and wrenching, yet worthwhile.

Throughout the story, Olsen’s narrator describes her work as a young mother in violent terms. The first line of the story, for example, mentions the “torment” that the narrator perceives while ironing, which is an outwardly peaceful activity. The narrator further describes the cries of infant Emily as “battering” and later, when Emily goes to nursery school, she notes the “lacerations of group life.” These vivid word choices evoke war and bodily harm, indicating the intensity of the narrator’s struggle as she begins her life as a young mother. Although her family’s life is not marked by overt abuse or tragedy, the day-to-day realities that she and her young daughter face suggest that domestic life is not a haven from the dangerous world outside but rather an extension of it.

Despite the hardship that characterizes her life as a young mother, though, the narrator also notes several instances of peace and joy in those years. When Emily is born, for example, the narrator says that “she was a miracle to me.” The narrator’s ongoing devotion to Emily — even through the times of strife and difficulty — indicates that that sense of the miraculous continues to underlie the relationship between the two. Although the family does not have much money, Emily still finds a way to have “precious things” by collecting objects like beads and pebbles. While Emily’s collections are monetarily worthless, they comfort her and provide a means for her to interact peacefully with her sister Susan. The narrator also mentions that Emily had moments of “lightness and brightness,” even as an unhappy child. These fleeting moments indicate that even at its darkest, their shared life was buoyed by joy.

In light of the family’s simultaneous poverty and surprising joy, the narrator doesn’t simply despair at the outcome of her homemaking efforts: she ultimately wonders whether the imperfect home she provided might still be enough to make Emily’s life better than the narrator’s own has been. This sense of hope amid adversity advances the idea that domestic life does not have to be perfect to be worthwhile. When Emily finally enters the scene at the end of the story, she appears to the reader as a surprisingly normal teenager. Her cheerful presence causes her mother, and the reader, to reconsider all of narrator’s previous worries. The narrator wonders: “Why were you concerned? She will find her way.” This turn suggests that the narrator’s labors, while lacking in many ways, may nonetheless have accomplished the essential goal of raising a healthy child. Though the narrator continues to think of Emily with some sadness, she notes that “there is still enough left to live by.” Her hope for Emily is modest but meaningful: that Emily know “that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” This hope suggests that Emily may have a future in which domestic obligation—while perhaps still a burden—does not completely define her, marking a significant step forward from the life her mother has led.